Method and device for fluidization or separation of disperse materials



'Fgb. 17, v.A. BELY ETAL "3,495,710

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FLUIDIZATION OR SEPARATION 0F DISPERSE MATERIALS Filed March 1, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIB! - v. AQBELY ETAL Feb. 17, 1970 METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FLUIDIZATION OR SEPARATION OF DISPERSE MATERIAL S 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1,1967

United States Patent METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FLUIDIZATION OR SEPARATION OF DISPERSE MATERIALS Vladimir Alexeevich Bely, Ulitsa Rogachevskaya 33-21, kv. 5, and Nikolai Ivanovich Egorenkov, Ulitsa Ilicha 99-a, both of Gomel, U.S.S.R.

Filed Mar. 1, 1967, Ser. No. 619,721 Int. Cl. B07b 1/42 US. Cl. 209--368 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for fluidization or separation of disperse materials, using the principle of oscillations or oscillating vortices and characterized by that in order to intensify the processes of fluidization or separation, the oscillating drive of the movable bottom (a screen, gas-distributing grate, etc.) is made as a system of horizontal and vertical electromagnetic oscillators actuated by a relay system operating in a closed cycle. Electric wires from the relay contacts and from the stator windings of electromagnets are connected to the control panel. The sequence of switching the electromagnetic oscillators is chosen by respective connecting the relay contacts and electromagnet windings by bipolar plugs. Such a system of electromagnet switching, together with a closed-cycle operation of the relays, ensures a wide spectrum of the types of mechanical oscillations of the movable bottom.

This invention relates to the method for fluidization as well as separation of disperse materials. Fluidization of powdered materials finds application in the chemical industry for running of catalytic reactions, heat exchange, and surface coating, etc., as well as in the metalworking industry for quenching metal elements. Separation of initial materials into fractions, is resorted to in construction, in the chemical and the food industry, and in agriculture.

Fluidization of a particulate material can be effected by three techniques, viz., by passing a gas therethrough (vortex technique), or by imparting to the particulate material vibrations so that the instantaneous acceleration of particles will be greater than the gravitational acceleration (vibrotechnique), or by a combination of the aforesaid two techniques (composite vortex-and-vibrotechnique).

The known devices for fiuidizing particulate materials by the vibrotechnique or vortex-and-vibrotechnique or for effecting the separation of particulate materials generally consist of a working chamber in which provision is made for a movable bottom, and an electromagnetic vibrator which imparts mechanical oscillations to said bottom.

The known methods and devices have a disadvantage in that oscillating motion of the Working chamber bottom is reciprocal and takes place in a single plane only. Such oscillations do not always provide optimum conditions for accomplishing the processes of fluidization or separation. Much better results are obtainable with oscillations at right angles, circular oscillations in the plane of the bottom, and oscillations in different planes, and also by resorting to a combination of highand low-frequency oscillations, etc. In order to find optimum conditions for carrying out the processes of fluidization and separation it is likewise expedient to vary the nature of oscillations of the working chamber movable bottom while the device is operating.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages.

It is the specific object of the present invention to pro- 3,495,710 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 "ice vide a method and device that will make it possible to carry out effective fluidization or separation by imparting complex mechanical oscillations to the movable bottom of a working chamber.

The present invention consists in a. method and device for effecting the fluidization or separation of disperse materials, the principal component of said device being a versatile electromagnetic vibrodrive which makes it possible to impart to the movable bottom of the device mechanical oscillations of practically any pre-set type.

The device may consist of a fixed casing, in the bottom part of which casing a frame is supported from a resilient suspension, provision being made in said frame for a bottom which may be imperforate, perforate, or meshed, depending upon the designation of the device. Disposed on said movable frame are the armatures of electromagnets which comprise the ferromagnetic element of the device. The frame may be made of ferromagnetic material and, in such a structure, it is feasible to dispense with said armatures, as the frame proper will function as the armature of the electromagnets. Disposed around the frame are the stators of the electromagnets which, in conjunction with the ferromagnetic armature element, constitute a system of horizontal vibrators, whose axis of vibration lies in the plane of the frame (bottom plane), and a system of vertical vibrators, whose axis of vibration is at right angles to the plane of the bottom. To energize the electromagnets, use is made of a system of relays actuated in accordance with a closed cycle schedule, so that the first relay actuates the second relay which, in turn, actuates the third relay, and so on, until the last relay actuates the first relay. The sequence in which the electromagnets are energized is determined by the pattern of connecting the relay contacts to the contacts of electromagnet windings on a switch panel by two-fin plugs.

Where the present device is used for effecting the separation (classification) of disperse materials, the bottom of the movable frame may be made either porous or meshed.

When the present device is used for the fluidization of disperse materials, the movable frame bottom should be either porous, if fluidization is effected by the coaction of vibrations and a turbulent gas stream, or solid, if recourse is had solely to the vibrotechnique.

For a better understanding of the present invention, the specification is illustrated by drawings of a specific embodiment of the device for accomplishing the present method, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device according to the invention; I

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of electromagnets,

FIG. 3 is an electric schematic circuit diagram of the device;

FIG. 3A schematically shows connections to provide oscillation of the movable bottom in two mutually perpendicular directions; and

FIG. 3B schematically shows the connections to provide oscillations of the movable bottom in a horizontal direction.

In accordance with the present invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a device comprising a working chamber, the lower part or frame 1 of which is movably supported by a resilient suspension 2, and a bottom 13, which can be either solid for fluidization or perforated for separation, is detachably secured thereto. A plurality of ferromagnetic electromagnet armatures 3 are secured to the frame angularly spaced around the sides and under the bottom thereof. The electromagnets comprise stators with exciting windings 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 angularly spaced horizontally around the sides of the frame 1 and stators with windings 14, 15, 16, 17, 1'8, 19, 20, and 21 angularly spaced and extending vertically under the frame spaced from and adjacent to the armatures 3 under the bottom 13.

To energize the electromagnets, use is made of a programmer consisting essentially of timing relays, the wiring diagram of the relays being shown in FIG. 3. The system of relays is divided into two blocks, viz., block 23 (relays 3-2, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39) which controls vertically disposed electromagnets, and block 22 (relays 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31) which controls the horizontally disposed electromagnets. Relays 24, 25, 26 31 are furnished with contacts 24-, 24", 24", 25', 25", 25, 26, 26", 26" 31', 31", 31", the contacts being connected so that said relays will be actuated in accordance with a closed cycle schedule in the following sequence: 24, 25, 26 31, 24, 25, and so on. The sequence of energization of the electromagnets is governed by the stator winding connections to the relays. The electrical connections between relay operating contacts 24", 25"", 26"" 31"" and the windings of stators 4, 5, 6 11 are effected by means of bipolar plugs (51 in FIG. 3) on the switch panel (50 in FIG. 3) and involve the use of contacts 4', 5, 6 11'.

Relay switching frequency depends upon the resistance of resistors 40 and 41 and on the variable capacity of capacitors 42, 43, 44 49.

The device of the present invention operates as follows. Preset the sequence of electromagnet switching. Make use of bipolar plugs to connect the winding of electro magnet stators (4', 5' 11', 14', 15' 21') to contact control relay unit jacks (24"", 25" 39"") on the switchboard in accordance with the desired electromagnet switching sequence. Next charge the disperse material to be fluidized or separated into the working chamber of the device and connect the device to a power source.

Presented hereinbelow is an exemplary procedure for causing the movable bottom to oscillate in two mutually perpendicular directions in the bottom lane. To ensure such a mode of oscillations, the stator windings of the horizontal electromagnets should be connected to the relay contacts of block 22 on the control panel, as shown in FIG. 3A, numeral 52. Horizontally disposed stators 10, 8, 6, and 4 are energized in the following sequence: 10, 6, 8, and 4. To do so, contact 4 of the winding of stator 4 is connected to contact 24"" of relay 24, contact 8' of the winding of stator 8 is connected to contact 26" of relay 26, contact 6 of the winding of stator 6 is connected to contact 28"", and contact of the winding of stator 10 is connected to contaca 30"". Hence, the relay that is the first to be actuated energizes stator 4; the relay that is the third to be actuated energizes stator 8, the relay that is the fifth to be actuated energizes stator 6, and the relay that is the seventh to be actuated energizes stator 10. The aforesaid sequence of energization of the stators causes the movable part of the working chamber to oscillate first along the line connecting stators 4 and 8, and then along the line connecting stators 10 and 6, the overall result being that the movable part of the working chamber oscillates in two directions at right angles to each other in the plane of the movable bottom part.

Consider an example of oscillating the movable bottom in a horizontal plane. To effect such a movement, the horizontally disposed electromagnets should be energized successively in a closed cycle: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,

4, 5, etc. To do this, the bipolar plugs of the control panel should be inserted so as to connect contact 4 with contact 24", contact 5 with contact 25"", contact 6' with contact 26"", contact 7' with contact 27"", contact 8' with contact 28"", contact 9 with contact 29"", contact 10' with contact 30"", contact 11 with contact 31"". The connection scheme is shown in FIG. 3B (numeral 53).

The bottom of the movable lower part of the working chamber, to which the armatures are affixed, i displaced towards the vertically extending stators of the electromagnets by the energization thereof in any desired sequence. The overall displacement of the bottom toward the various stators will be governed by the pre-set switching sequence of vertical and horizontal electromagnets. Since the switching sequence of electromagnets may be varied, the present device is capable of causing the working chamber bottom to oscillate along any desired trajectory, thereby enhancing the efllciency of disperse material fluidization or filtration and greatly increasing the capacity of the device.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for fluidization or separation of disperse materials which comprises a stationary casing having in its lower part a movable frame with a ferromagnetic element; resilient suspension means mounting said frame on said casing; said frame having a bottom and forming with said casing a chamber for material to be fluidized or separated; stators of electromagnets disposed angularly spaced horizontally around said frame so as to form in conjunction with said ferromagnetic element a system of horizontal oscillators; a system of vertical oscillators comprising vertically extending electromagnet stators beneath said frame and angularly spaced adjacent to the periphery thereof; a system of relays operable in accordance with a closed cycle schedule with successive switching of the relays; a control panel for said electromagnets to which are connected the operating contacts of said relays and windings of said electromagnet stators; and means connecting the relay operating contacts to the ele'ctromagnet stator windings according to a predetermined sequence of electromagnet energization.

2. A device according to claim 1, in which the ferromagnetic element comprises angularly spaced electromagnet armatures peripherally secured to said movable frame.

3. A device according to claim 1, in which the ferromagnetic element comprises said movable frame made of a ferromagnetic material.

4. A device according to claim 1 'wherein said bottom is imperforate.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein said bottom is perforate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,179,428 4/1916 Hayes 209368 X 1,753,412 4/1930 Harris 25972 2,880,871 4/1959 Bruningaaus 209368 X FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

